World-renowned journalist Ann Coulter is coming to speak in Canada on Monday and is giving me an exclusive one-hour interview on The Michael Coren Show. In this country our publicly funded universities regularly host speakers who accuse Catholics of being murderers and child-rapists, evangelicals of being bigots and Gay-bashers, Zionists of being genocidal madmen and conservatives of being mentally ill and sadistic. There have been calls for Christians to be killed, pro-lifers have been threatened and silenced, scientists who question global warming have been banned and Jewish students report being frightened of being publicly identified. In this context I bring you a letter written by the Vice-President of the University of Ottawa to the award-winning and best-selling author Ms Coulter. As she herself said today, “The provost of u of ottawa is threatening to criminally prosecute me for my speech there on monday before I’ve even set foot in canada!”

“Dear Ms. Coulter,

I understand that you have been invited by University of Ottawa Campus Conservatives to speak at the University of Ottawa this coming Tuesday. We are, of course, always delighted to welcome speakers on our campus and hope that they will contribute positively to the meaningful exchange of ideas that is the hallmark of a great university campus. We have a great respect for freedom of expression in Canada, as well as on our campus, and view it as a fundamental freedom, as recognized by our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I would, however, like to inform you, or perhaps remind you, that our domestic laws, both provincial and federal, delineate freedom of expression (or “free speech”) in a manner that is somewhat different than the approach taken in the United States. I therefore encourage you to educate yourself, if need be, as to what is acceptable in Canada and to do so before your planned visit here. You will realize that Canadian law puts reasonable limits on the freedom of expression. For example, promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges. Outside of the criminal realm, Canadian defamation laws also limit freedom of expression and may differ somewhat from those to which you are accustomed. I therefore ask you, while you are a guest on our campus, to weigh your words with respect and civility in mind. There is a strong tradition in Canada, including at this University, of restraint, respect and consideration in expressing even provocative and controversial opinions and urge you to respect that Canadian tradition while on our campus. Hopefully, you will understand and agree that what may, at first glance, seem like unnecessary restrictions to freedom of expression do, in fact, lead not only to a more civilized discussion, but to a more meaningful, reasoned and intelligent one as well.

I hope you will enjoy your stay in our beautiful country, city and campus.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again– the threat to freedom of speech today is coming strictly from the Left. I tend to avoid hyperbole because I believe it closes people down. They stop listening. Having said that, Leftism in the West today is little more than stalinism-lite. They are totalitarians without guns. Bolsheviks with a heart of gold.

This is a double self-reveal for the Left. First, their appeals in the past to such things as freedom of speech, non-violence, civil liberties, what have you, have been exposed time and again as purely tactical, not ideological. It’s how the barbarians got inside the gate. Once inside and firmly ensconced in the halls of power, the rules changed. Freedom of speech was for them, not you. Second, it reveals the danger posed to liberty and freedom by the Leftwing doctrine of multiculturalism. This civilization-destroying doctrine requires truth to be concealed–not revealed–lest the people rise up against it. As such it is anti-democratic as well. So Ann Coulter was threatened because they’re worried about what she might say and what conversations she might provoke. This is what landed Mark Steyn and Geert Wilders in court, by the way. It costs money to defend yourself against these multi-culti goons, so intimidation is often enough to silence people. You cannot adequately criticize multiculturalism and avoid the subject of Islam. Both go hand in hand when debating the dangers of multiculturalism. Therefore to silence criticism of one is to silence criticism of both. And if merely speaking out against multiculturalism is hate speech, and risks landing you in jail, that doctrine becomes immune to attack. As government policy, it is now beyond the will of the people. It is set in stone. Secular Progressivism, despite their clownishly self-flattering mantra of “speaking truth to power”, are THEMSELVES the ones in power. And they will gladly see you muzzled or behind bars to keep it that way.